A lot goes into a great dental practice. In addition to providing great oral healthcare, dentists are of course interested in providing exceptional customer service. In fact, the quality of customer service is one of the pillars of business profitability. Sadly, however, many business owners do not know what elements are secretly hurting their service and how customers perceive them. One of the most significant of these elements is voicemail.
How Dental Patients View Voicemail
There was a time where voicemail was considered a necessity for the business, but that time has come and gone. Most consumers today see voicemail as an outdated 90’s convention, disregarding any benefit it provides and seeing it only as an inconvenience at best, and an annoyance at worst.
How it Impacts Your Business
As a dental practitioner, you are in the business of healthcare, and customers crave care that is personal. When a patient calls, they want a personal connection with you. When calls go to voicemail, they assume that if a short call is not able to be managed, then their care cannot also be managed. It may seem like a huge jump, but consumers today have so many choices at their fingertips that even something as simple as letting a call go to voicemail can mean lost revenue. Studies show that as many as 67% of callers do not call back after reaching voicemail.
Additionally, since voicemail is considered an “outdated” convention, consumers are also quick to assume, however wrongly, that other things about the practice are likely to be outdated as well.
Live Answering Service is an Asset
In today’s modern market, no practice can afford to skimp on customer care because customer care is the true differentiator when so many services are readily available. If a patient or potential customer is not satisfied, they move on more quickly and provide negative reviews more readily than ever before. Today, a simple lack of customer care can be a huge blow to a practice. With live call answering services you can:
- Save on the cost of additional staff
- Keep your dental office open “around the clock”
- Never miss a patient call
- Provide a professional first impression
- Be more responsive
- Have true emergency messages forwarded
- Capture more new patients
- Remain HIPAA Compliant
Using a live answering service provides every caller with a warm extension of yourself and a representation of your care and responsiveness. No matter how busy you become, you never miss a call and have a live operator representing you, your brand, and your practice as if they are part of your in-house staff.
Midwest Answer specializes in live answering services of all kinds and serves the unique needs of dental practices. For more information, please give us a call today at 844-720-1115.
